Spousal Support

Silicon Valley Lawyer: Alimony / Spousal Support

Spousal support, often still referred to as alimony, has gone through several changes over the past twenty-years in California. In years past, alimony was typically awarded to a wife who remained at home to take care of house and children, while the husband pursued a career and earned a living for the family. In order to prevent a wife without job skills or earning power from slipping into poverty, judges often ordered the husband to pay a certain level of spousal support after divorce. As women began to enter the workforce in higher numbers and pursue careers during the 1970s, awards for spousal support began to diminish. By the late 1980s, it wasn't unusual to hear of husbands sometimes being awarded alimony. Today, divorce attorneys typically fight for spousal support to be awarded in cases where one spouse clearly has depended upon the other for financial support, while staying home to raise children. Generally, it is often awarded in cases of long-term marriages, established at a time when wives often did not work outside of the home.

Common-sense proposals to emotional spousal support concerns

At the Law Offices of Michael J. MacLellan, Esq., in San Jose, California, we fight aggressively on behalf of clients who have spousal support concerns in their divorce. We understand that alimony is often an emotionally contentious issue that can increase the stakes of a divorce settlement for both sides. We offer common-sense, fair proposals that are much appreciated by California family law judges.

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Free consultation about your alimony settlement concerns

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We invite you to contact us to learn more about how we can help you resolve your spousal support issues fairly. We are a family-oriented law firm that will provide a clear explanation of how alimony issues are likely to affect you - not only now, but in your future as well, long after your divorce judgment is entered.

Alimony is awarded based on factors such as:

Earning capacity of both spouses
Length of marriage
Age, physical, and mental capacity of each party
Additional income, such as stocks and trusts
Contribution to child support, education fund, and health insurance
Value of the contribution as homemaker

Alimony options

Permanent support: Taxable financial support, typically to be paid monthly until either the recipient dies or remarries. The alimony agreement may include a clause stipulating that "cohabitation" will result in the termination of alimony, just as remarriage will. Rarely awarded except in cases of extremely long-term marriages in which the recipient did not earn a substantial living outside of the home.

Lump sum: A single financial payment, which is taxable to the recipient.

Temporary: Spousal support that is paid for a pre-determined length of time, generally less than three years. It is generally awarded in marriages lasting less than ten years.

Rehabilitative: The most common type of spousal support. It is generally awarded for a specified period to a spouse who will require retraining or further education to enter the workforce and become self-supporting.